Amber Narmore
Professor Hess
Studies in Literature
4/8/11
Imagery Paper
Stained Glass
In Frederick Buechner’s short story “The Dwarves in the Stable”, two tangible
images that stand out are the pieces of stained glass that sit propped up in the
window of Buechner’s office. Both these pieces of stained glass have been given as
gifts to Buechner throughout the years and have been continuously
overlooked(Buechner 91-92). The image of the cowardly lion and the diptych on
the surface are just pleasant gifts from most likely friends and family. On a deeper
level, however, these images and words stand for meanings and emotions that go
much deeper into the life of Buechner. Both these pieces of stained glass symbolize
the terror and utter blindness that came over Buechner while his daughter was sick.
Along with symbolizing the terror and blindness, they also symbolize the light and
profound knowledge that Buechner discovers about himself, his past and ultimately
his future.
When Buechner’s daughter became sick with anorexia, Buechner invested
himself so much into his daughter that he became blinded to everything else and
eventually became sick with love. Buechner was harming himself in trying so hard
to fix his daughter(95). It is interesting that it is an image of a cowardly lion that
represents this time in Buechner’s life so perfectly. Lions are not seen to be
cowardly in our world today, but rather as animals full of courage and majestic
beauty as they hunt and prowl through the land. Buechner is supposed to be the
lion of his family, full of courage and majestic beauty, but instead he is cowardly and
has become ugly from the sickness he has imposed on himself. Buechner is lacking
the courage in his daughter to go through this illness on her own, and the courage in
himself to let her fully go. He has become like the cowardly lion in the picture,
bound up by his own doing and surrounded by his own personal fears brought on by
his father’s untimely death.
The other image that is present is the painting with the words “May the
blessing of God crown this house” and “fortunate is he whose work is blessed and
whose household is prospered by the Lord”(92). This correlates with the image of
the lion in that it symbolizes that even though Buechner went through such a
terrible event and experienced horrible and painful emotions, that it was in actuality
a fearsome blessing from God. Because of what Buechner went through with his
daughter he was able to grasp a new understanding of himself, how his past has
affected him and how he treats his family today. Without the terrible event of his
daughter’s sickness Buechner would have never discovered this and in turn
wouldn’t have grown and matured into the person he is today.
The fearsome blessing that was put upon Buechner has not only revealed
how his past has, and still is, effecting him, but has also caused the silence of his
father’s death to stop so that he may start to finally heal from his fathers traumatic
and selfish death. All his life he has been silent about his father and the hole that his
death has left in his heart. His father’s death became the family secret that would
stay hidden forever by everyone in the family. No one in the family would ever talk
of Buechner’s father. It was a subject that was silenced and remained that way for
all of Buechner’s life. Through his daughter’s sickness Buechner was finally able to
see how the absence of his father in his life has made such an impact on his
relationship with his daughter. Buechner will never let his daughter go through
what he went through with his dad. He will try his absolute hardest to be there for
her at all times. Buechner has this drive in him to never let her go through anything
on her own, and its this exact drive that causes him to become lovesick and blinded
when his daughter becomes sick. Through his daughters sickness he is able to see
how much effect his father’s death has had on him and he is finally able to start to let
that secret out.
Both these pieces of stained glass have been given as gifts to Buechner
throughout the duration of his life. The only difference between these two gifts is
that one was asked for, and the other was not. Buechner makes it clear in the text
that he had asked someone to give him the stained glass image of the cowardly lion
as a Christmas gift one year, imposing the gift on himself. The diptych, however, was
a gift freely given and not given based on Buechner requesting it (91-92). This is
significant to the story in that Buechner basically asked for and imposed his own
lovesickness on himself, like the stained glass of the cowardly lion. He bound
himself up with rope by tangling himself up in his daughter’s sickness and soon
became blind to all other aspects and feelings of his life. Like the diptych, God freely,
willingly, and without request gave his love and mercy to Buechner’s daughter and
to Buechner so that they may both be healed of their distinct sicknesses. Both these
pieces of stained glass were gifts given to Buechner, likewise, both the terrible event
of his daughter’s sickness and the realization of his sickness and ultimate need to let
go of his daughter were both gifts given to better their lives.
The way Buechner writes about these particular gifts of art he has be given
suggests that he has not thought about them in a long time. Buechner mentions in
the text that he has never really given them much thought, and that they have been
sitting up on his window year after year gathering dust (92). This is appropriate to
the story in that in represents how blind we are everyday to the gifts we are given
everyday. God gives us numerous blessings and gifts everyday that we do not notice
and that go on gathering dust in our lives. It is once we actually open our eyes to see
the blessings we have each day that we start to connect the dots and realize God
makes all things work together for our good. Likewise, it is only when Buechner
opens his eyes and realizes the pieces of art sitting in his window that he is able to
connect the dots and realize the fearsome blessing that has been placed in his life.
Works Cited
Buechner, Frederick. “The Dwarves in the Stable.” Shadow and Light: Literature and
the Life of Faith 2nd Ed. Eds. Darryl Tippens, Stephen Weathers, & Jeanne
Murray Walker. Abilene, TX: ACU Press, 2005. 83-104. Print.